Resilient strip jar cap wrench



May 22, 1951 J. E. HoRToN RESILIENT STRIP JAR CAR WRENCH Filed June l,1948 Fig. 3.

Inventor John E. Hor/on Patented May 22, 1951 UNITE@ STATES ifATE-NTEFHCE RESILIEN T STRIP JAR CAP WRENCH .lohn E. Horton, Los Angeles,Calif.

Application 'June 1, 1948, Serial No. 30,222

2 Claims. l

This invention relates to new and useful irnprovernents in wrenchesespecially adapted to remove screw-caps and like covers from jars,bottles or similar receptacles and to securely screw suchv caps orcovers upon the receptacles for which they are intended. f

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple nonmetallicwrench -of the aforementioned character that is so designed as to bequickly and readily applied about a cap or cover to tightly grip thesame, and which. is applicable for caps and covers of various shapes ordiameters.

sAnother object of the present invention is to vprovide a wrench foropening and closing the tops of jars and the like that is constructed ofa steam, water, chemical and age resistant flexible rubber-like compoundwhich incorporates a strip of strong and durable, flexible canvas of thesame strength and highquality as 'that used in power belting, and whichwill be permanently molded into the back of the wrench so as to becomean integral or unitary part thereof, thus adding great strength andpreventing the breaking and splitting of the wrench, which often occursto wrenches made of resilient or rubber material only. Such an inclusionof a reinforcing element of the foregoing characteristics, increases thedurability and strength of the present wrench permitting the same to beused more effectively J and eiiiciently for removing caps or covers fromreceptacles.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an all sizeflexible wrench which includes novel and improved finger engagingrecesses on its outer face that are carefully and accurately spaced toreceive the fingers of the user, thus enabling any number of the holesor recesses to be used as fulcrums and the fingers used as levers toprovide an extremely powerful, non-slipping grip on any cover, so thatit may be opened or closed frequently without damage to the cover, andthe jars or receptacles can then be used indefinitely.

Heretofore resilient jar wrenches have been made of a continuous roundedsection of a material having a predetermined size so that the same willbe applicable for Mason type jars. When such wrenches are used foropening the caps or closures for many small receptacles, the I wrenchmust be collapsed thus folding the sides of the wrench close together,unduly stressing the same and causing the same to break or split.

Accordingly, the present wrench has been designed to eliminate theforegoing undesirable occurrences by providing an endless orsubstantially endless wrench since the elongated strip forming the sameis provided with eyelets at its ends into which is incorporated a freerunning metal ring to allow for instant zero contraction, thus the endsof the wrench can be'brought very closely together any number of timeswith no stress whatever on the wrench itself.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a flexiblewrench that is small and compact in structure, strong and reliable inuse, neat and attractive in appearance, economical to manufacture, andotherwise carefully designed and well adapted for the purposes for whichthe same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the `accompanying vdrawings forming part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan View of the present invention, and with partsthereof broken away and shown in sections for the purpose ofillustration,

and showing in dotted lines the said wrench applied to a jar cover ofmedium size;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the present invention takensubstantially on the plane of section line 2-2 of Figure 1; and,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the present invention showing theholding ring removed therefrom.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose ofillustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the numeral lll represents an elongated, substantiallyrectangular strip of exible steam water, chemical and age resistantrubber-like material that is sectioned or cut from a length or roll ofsuch material to reduce to a minimum the amount of material wastedduring the construction or manufacture of the present invention.

Fixed to the outer face of strip Il) and pressure molded into strip Ill,so as to become a permanent integral part thereof, is an elongatedbacking l2 of very strong, durable, exible canvas that will reinforcethe strip l!! to give durability thereto and which will prevent thelatter from breaking, splitting or tearing in use. This backing l2 isprovided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced nger receivingopenings I4 that oppose concave recesses I5 provided in the outer faceof strip l0.

Integrally formed with the inner face of the strip l0 is a plurality oflongitudinally spaced,

transversely extending parallel gripping teeth or ribs I8 for engagingthe outer surface of a jar cover, cap or the like 20.

'I'he ends 22 and 24 of the strip I0 and backing I2, are respectivelyprovided With openings 26 that Vxedly engage reinforcing sleeves 28 thatslidably receive a holding ring 30. This holding ring 30 is employed forretaining the ends of the strip I0 and the backing I2 relative to eachother so that the present wrench will be substantially in the form of aloop or continuous band, as shown best in Figure 1 of the drawings.

In practical use of the present invention, the same is slipped over thetop 20 so that the teeth I8 will engage the outer circumference of thetop or cover 20, A user grips the body portions of the present inventionin one hand and inserts his fingers into Ythe appropriate openings I4and recesses I6, whereby the top may be rotated or turned to be appliedto or removed from a bottle, jar or the like.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of thedevice Ywill be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A moredetailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shownand described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same issusceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of theinvention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A universal wrench for removing and replacing tops and covers ofreceptacles by hand pressure comprising a strip of resilient materialhaving a toothed inner surface, a heavy flexible canvas backingpermanently embedded in the outer surface of the strip, a plurality oflongitudinally spaced openings in said backing, a plurality of ngerreceiving recesses provided in the outer surface of the stripregistering with the openings in said backing, metal eyelets permanentlyembedded at the ends of said strip, and a strong metal ring free runningthrough the eyelets to provide the means for connecting the ends ofthestrip to each other, and to allow for instant zero contraction orinstant maximum expansion of said wrench.

2. A device for removing or replacing tops on receptacles comprising astrip of resilient material having a toothed inner surface, a exiblebacking fixed to the outer surface of the strip, a plurality oflongitudinally spaced openings provided in said backing, a plurality ofiinger receiving recesses provided in the outer surface of the stripregistering with the openings in said backing, and means for connectingthe ends of the strip to each other.

JOHN E. HORTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS n 'Australia of 1934

